Portland Public Library

Straits, beyond the myth of Magellan, Felipe Fernández-Armesto

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

mapsillustrations

index present

non fiction

Straits

bibliography

1263251163

Felipe Fernández-Armesto

beyond the myth of Magellan

"With Straits, celebrated historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto subjects the surviving sources to the most meticulous scrutiny ever, providing a timely and engrossing biography of the real Ferdinand Magellan. The truth that Fernández-Armesto uncovers about Magellan's life, his character, and the events of his ill-fated voyage offers up a stranger, darker, and even more compelling narrative than the fictional version that has been celebrated for half a millennium. Magellan did not attempt--much less accomplish--a journey around the globe. In his lifetime he was abhorred as a traitor, reviled as a tyrant, self-condemned to destruction, and dismissed as a failure. Straits untangles the myths that made Magellan a hero and discloses the reality of the man, probing the passions and tensions that drove him to adventure and drew him to disaster. We see the mutations of his character: pride that became arrogance, daring that became recklessness, determination that became ruthlessness, romanticism that became irresponsibility, and superficial piety that became, in adversity, irrational exaltation. As the real Magellan emerges, so do his real ambitions, focused less on circumnavigating the world or cornering the global spice market than on exploiting Filipino gold. Straits is a study in failure and the paradox of Magellan's career--that renown is not always a reflection of merit, but the gift and accident of circumstance"--, Provided by publisher

Preface -- The globe around Magellan -- The education of an adventurer -- The trajectory of a traitor -- The making and marring of a fleet -- The cruel sea -- The gibbet at San Julián -- The gates of fame -- The unremitting wind -- Death as advertised -- Aftermath and apotheosis